Smyths Toys makes €50K savings following €150K deal with Fastcom

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Fastcom, the leading network management company, has helped Smyths Toys reduce its IT costs by €50,000 following a €150,000 deal. Over a three-year period, Fastcom will provide Smyths with a complete network management solution; giving the IT department a unique and complete view of their entire network across 86 stores in Ireland and the UK and 4,774 connected devices.

Smyths’ unplanned maintenance costs and number of callouts have both now been cut by 50%. IT productivity, meanwhile, has increased by at least 75% as time spent diagnosing and fixing problems has significantly reduced.

By partnering with Fastcom, Smyths, headquartered in Galway, now has a detailed view of its entire network across all of its sites; allowing its IT department to locate problems down to the very device they are coming from. Smyths has found that simple but detrimental faults, such as a device that was mistakenly unplugged, can now be detected remotely within seconds – without requiring anyone to go on-site.

Such a solution is unique in the Irish market and could revolutionise the way IT departments of multi-site businesses operate. Founded in 2004, Fastcom’s software allows businesses to view their entire network and connected devices from one location. Real-time analysis and alerts allow businesses to have complete confidence in, and understanding of, their network – ensuring fast diagnosis and unrivalled security. Threats are detected before they can cause any harm, while the time wasted searching for even the most basic issue is significantly reduced.

The deal comes after Smyths Toys found that its IP address had been blacklisted, leaving staff unable to send emails. After two days of unsuccessful attempts to find the root of the problem, IT Network and Infrastructure Manager, Seamus Hogan, contacted Fastcom. Within the space of a few hours, Fastcom had located the issue: a spamming PC with no anti-virus.

Seamus Hogan says: “A large part of our business is over email and we were unable to send emails for a period of about four to five days. Year-round, we communicate with buyers in Germany and China to buy for Christmas, so we can’t afford to be down for any period of time.

“Before partnering with Fastcom, we didn’t have any visibility or control of the network; it just wasn’t there. Fastcom allows us to connect the dots all the way through: they are our network protectors. Very quickly we can see where a specific problem impacts, how it impacts and how it connects.

“Trade is highly reliant on LAN & WAN connectivity; credit, gift and loyalty card transactions – they all rely heavily on network availability. On a busy day, a small outage can have significant impact. Now, if something is down in the store, we’re able to use the Auditor Core to very quickly troubleshoot where the problem is and hone in on that. The days of guessing, speculating and wasting valuable time is gone. The real time information presented to us enables us to either prevent problems from happening in the first place or help find the solution. As a result the whole network is in a much better place than it was. We’re getting control of our network again.”

Ross Palmer, Managing Director, Fastcom, says: “IT departments are attempting the impossible. They want complete control of their networks, yet they don’t have the resources. Instead, they find themselves wasting time and money on trying to find the root cause of basic problems while their expertise could be utilised elsewhere. Through Fastcom, they can get a complete and detailed view of their entire network from one location; cutting costs and time.

“Smyths Toys is known and loved across Ireland and the UK and it is important to them that they retain their positive image amongst both suppliers and customers. We have seen how security breaches and IT outages can have a disastrous effect on a company’s good name, so we work closely with Smyths on a daily basis and alert them to any unusual activity on the network. The IT department can then quickly diagnose problems before they become an issue. For any company to be able to stand over its network with such confidence is invaluable.”

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